In an editorial on Friday, the newspaper, which is affiliated with the official People’s Daily, said TSMC’s decision to invest in cutting-edge technology in the US showed that Washington had tricked it, and that the US was stealing from the world’s most important technology in “our Taiwan region” – a reference to Beijing’s claim of sovereignty over the self-ruled island.
It is a game changer.
The investment by TSMC is one of the largest foreign investments in U.S. history, and the biggest in the state of Arizona.
The article “Arizona’s Tiny Taipei: How a Taiwanese Chip Factory Seeded a Community” discusses the significant impact of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) investment in Phoenix, Arizona, on both the local community and the company’s stakeholders.
Summary
TSMC’s substantial investment in Phoenix has led to the development of a vibrant Taiwanese enclave, often referred to as “Tiny Taipei.” This transformation is evident through the emergence of Taiwanese businesses, increased availability of Asian groceries, and a growing Taiwanese presence in local schools and daycare centers. The influx of Taiwanese workers and their families has not only diversified the local culture but also stimulated economic growth in the area.
Key Takeaways
Significant Investment and Expansion: TSMC has committed $65 billion to construct three fabrication plants (fabs) in Arizona, marking the largest foreign direct investment in a new greenfield project in U.S. history.
Government Support: The company is set to receive $6.6 billion in U.S. government grants and $5 billion in loans, along with 25% tax credits, under the CHIPS and Science Act.
Operational Milestones: The first Arizona fab is expected to commence volume production in early 2025, with subsequent fabs planned for 2027 and 2028.
Enhanced Production Capabilities: Reports indicate that the Arizona facility’s yield rates have surpassed those of TSMC’s Taiwan facilities by approximately 4%, highlighting successful adaptation of manufacturing techniques in the U.S.
Economic and Community Impact: The project is anticipated to create thousands of jobs, from construction workers to semiconductor technicians and engineers, significantly contributing to the local economy.
Strategic Positioning: Establishing a manufacturing presence in the U.S. aligns with TSMC’s strategy to mitigate geopolitical risks and meet the growing demand for semiconductors, particularly in advanced technologies.
These developments suggest a positive outlook for TSMC’s growth and its shareholders, reflecting the company’s commitment to expanding its global footprint and enhancing production capabilities.
Personally I would prefer to read quotes from the article with your opinion not chatgpt summary of somebody’s original content.
One it’s ripping off the writer, two it’s boring as the summaries always look the same.
When I looked inside the article it was far more interesting than what you posted. The summary was a complete fail. Chatgpt completely missed the good stuff.
What’s also interesting to me is the very hypocritical way Taiwanese emigration and building a community overseas is promoted positively while severely restricting workers rights, family reunion, and immigrant rights including rights to be pregnant and have a child in Taiwan for workers in chip companies in Taiwan.
Meanwhile they have 260 kids in childcare over there and having a baby boom of new Taiwanese American kids as fast as possible.
They know a good thing when they see it, and their kids may grow up speaking Chinese, English and Spanish, getting day care and a western education as that’s what the opportunity presents? Why wouldn’t they take advantage of it? The same opportunity is not the case in Taiwan-- so why would the response be the same?
I don’t see the hypocrisy, but I’m not sure what you mean when you say the idea is “being promoted.” By Whom?
Yeah I think that’s right. Remember the trailing spouses can’t work and most are women. It seems to me that a number of factors have come together to make these families want to have children. Perhaps children that they always wanted to have or had at least thought about but chose not to because of the environment in Taiwan.
I’m a very firm believer that the state can do a lot to improve things. But this is a great example of how the state has trouble effectively incentivizing desired personal choices.
Well society at large in Taiwan along with government policy . Celebrates when Taiwanese get ahead and multi citizenship Taiwanese but blocks people who come to Taiwan from getting a fair go in a lot of cases and seems perfectly ok with discriminating against immigrants here. The Ministry of Interior even claimed that giving citizenship to foreign residents would cause a burden on Taiwan. Perhaps 500k immigrants in Taiwan are barred from having children here, they will be deported if they are pregnant. If they have children in Taiwan they will be undocumented with no ID.
Those Taiwanese families are rushing to have children in the US to get a passport for the kids (and family) because they are on 3 year work stints (probably can extend). Am I blaming them? No. Is it ridiculous the way immigrants are treated here given this country’s huge birth and labour deficit many of whom are working for big companies like TSMC, I think so!
I think what we are seeing is an old trope of Taiwanese marveling at the wonders of America plus the interest in the lives of the TSMC elite. It’s not really a celebration. I certainly agree that coverage could be more critical and there is a lot to think about here.
The Ministry of the Interior is intensely conservative as an institution. Other parts of government and society are more liberal. It’s complicated and as everywhere politics make things more difficult.
Migrant workers are no longer deported if they get pregnant. There is however a big problem with employers and brokers pressuring and even tricking pregnant women into leaving. It’s disgraceful.
Many people in Taiwan think that foreigners should be discriminated against. Otherwise, what’s the point of being Taiwanese if the government extends the same benefits to foreigners. This mentality is also related to the feelings of inferiority that many lower class Taiwanese have thanks to the KMT.
Exactly, and it’s a real problem with real consequences. I know how they think because I often asked my colleagues before.
For instance blue collar immigrants in Taiwan can now work for 12 years but they can’t have kids during that time. It’s really a detriment to those women’s lives during the prime period that they could have children and society at large that doesn’t really need to be that way.
That is just one example, there are many others.
Maybe I’m sidetracking this so I’ll leave it at that.
The TSMC leadership are smart. Got him off their back. They tell Trump what he wants to hear, but say setting up everything will take a long time until 2028.
Then start a construction site which will take another 5 years. And when Trump is gone (hopefully his last term), the situation will be different and they only spent a small fraction of that.
I read some more about it. It’s not even 2028. There are literally no dates. The previous 65 Billion will take until 2030 to come online. This new round should be even longer. Maybe 2035?
